Reinaldo Santos, 57, and Noemi Torres,45, were found with the majority of the more than 20 ounces of heroin netted during a months-long investigation by law enforcement.

It's not the first time Santos has faced accusations of selling drugs.

Reinaldo Santos was charged with running a crack ring about 17 years ago, according to The Post-Standard's archives.

In 1996, Santos was one of five people indicted on felony drug charges for a drug ring that shipped cocaine from Syracuse to Vermont, according to The Post-Standard's archives. Santos was identified as the "ringleader" of the group, the archives show. He pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy in the second degree, according to court documents.

Before that, Santos and his brother Julio were charged on Sept. 24, 1993, with criminal sale of a controlled substance. They were accused of selling 12 ounces of cocaine worth $27,000 to an undercover officer in the Oswego County Sheriff's Office. It was the biggest cocaine bust in the department's history, according to the Post-Standard's archives.

Santos pleaded guilty to fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance on Nov. 28, 2007, and was sentenced to two years in prison. At the sentencing, Judge Anthony Aloi said he hoped Santos would reform.

"Your attorney has worked very hard [o]n your behalf ... I hope I don't see you again," Santos said, according to a court transcript of the proceedings. "I hope another criminal court doesn't see you again, all right?"